…and precision rifles too!

What Is a Semiautomatic Gun?

Hello, I am Lil Chantilly, and I own a semiautomatic handgun. Because some members of the media, Bob Costas included, have a difficult time with the definition of semiautomatic, I thought I would present a lesson for them. Most of the people who read my blog already understand the difference between automatic, semiautomatic, and single shot.

I decided to go straight to a source most people recognize as authoritative, the Dictionary. I found the following at Dictionary.com:

Pay particular attention to the line, “requiring a squeeze of the trigger for each shot”. This means that on my semiautomatic Springfield XD45 pistol, I cannot just hold the trigger and then all the rounds will fire in succession. It means that for my semiautomatic pistol, I must pull the trigger, recover back on target, and then pull the trigger again. It takes practice and skill to do that quickly, but no matter what – you must pull the trigger for every single bullet that exits the gun.

What are some examples of semi-automatic weapons? The pistol at the top of this article is a semiautomatic .45 Caliber pistol. It is a Springfield XD45. Speaking of that – the same gun is at the top of this page in my main webpage design. I own a gun that fires one round at a time.

This is a Glock 26, it is semiautomatic, it fires one round with each pull of the trigger:

This is a Smith and Wesson M&P, it is semiautomatic, it fires one round each time the trigger is pulled:

Here is an AR-15, all dolled up for a lady. Even this rifle is semiautomatic, it fires one round each time the trigger is pulled:

At Wikipedia.com, they have a good paragraph that really explains what semiautomatic means:

“A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon’s feed device or magazine. Typically, this includes extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the weapon’s firing chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism, and loading a new cartridge into the firing chamber. Although automatic weapons and selective fire firearms do the same tasks, semi-automatic firearms do not automatically fire an additional round until the trigger is released and re-pressed by the person firing the weapon.”

Many media personalities discuss automatic weapons and semiautomatic firearms interchangeably. To the millions of gun owners in the country, the media sounds ignorant. To those who are afraid or lack understanding because they were not lucky enough to have a good mentor take them to the range, or hunting, or target shooting outdoors so far in life – the media may sound correct, and the stories they spin may sound scary. If I thought that every person with a gun was going to kill someone and that we all likely had automatic weapons, and because someone’s neighbor’s music was too loud, if I thought they planned to solve that argument with a gun – I would be scared as well.

I do own a semiautomatic pistol, I know A LOT of people who do, and they are all good honest Americans who love this country, would never hurt a soul (except to protect their own life or the lives of their family). When you hear the media talking, actually listen to the words they say, really consider the meaning behind those words, and decide for yourself if that person is knowledgable enough about the topic to continue listening. If they are not, turn them off. Eventually, they will have to educate themselves.

I do agree with you on the premeditated part Wolf. Some of these snakes in politician clothes are quite intelligent, and know exactly what they are doing. They get as much in under “acceptable” definitions as possible, and before you know it we will not even be able to have bolt action rifles. We need to keep our eye on them constantly.

Whut… whut… Why they are ALL dem Ebil black AK47 Assault weepons… How ‘dare’ you actually present ‘facts’… You ‘know’ the MSM only goes by ‘feelings’… Reality can’t be allowed to intrude! And is the furniture on that AR REALLY purple??? 🙂

Bless you for trying to educate people and I am glad that my article may be helping. I truly believe most people who are against gun control have never had an opportunity to learn and enjoy the sport. The media makes all guns sound evil. Days like today not only break my heart – but make it so difficult to have a calm discussion on the reality.

I am so glad you visited my blog – and truly hope you stick around and visit from time to time!

Ah, I don’t usually but it was a rare day of an FB discussion versus having someone rant at me. 🙂 I got the sense they didn’t understand what semi automatic meant & found you post to link them, too. Hubs is police, was army, is an avid hunter & has educated me to the point I really enjoy shooting, got my carry license for defense & my hunting license for sport. People just need to remember that law abiding citizens shouldn’t be punished for the few bad apples who will find a way to do what they want regardless of the law. Heartbreaking.

Thank you. I, too, linked others to your page today via Facebook. I do not mind debate – but my experience has been that many engage in gun control arguments without even knowledge of basic definitions…much less an understanding of what it is like to actually discharge a firearm.

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